Deus Ex: Human Revolution - PC Port Studio Revealed

For a number of years, Nixxes has been the go-to team for Eidos' multi-platform release calendar. Most recently, Nixxes helped deliver the PS3 and PC version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, a "full featured PC port" of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, and porting the PS3 and PC versions of Tomb Raider Underworld. Ties to Eidos with Nixxes goes back as far as bringing Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver to the Dreamcast.

Odd, given their past announcements. It would be rather disappointing to see yet another game with an awkward scroll-through inventory that is not utilising the fact that some people actually have 101+ keys at their disposal and full 2-d range of motion instead of some buttons on a gamepad.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I've definitely scaled back my expectations for this game.

Why? This port studio is one of the best out there. And I'd rather have Eidos hire someone to do the porting (note - only the coding and stuff, none of the design decisions) for them when they don't have the manpower instead of just releasing a bad port or delaying the game for months.

Originally Posted by Roi Danton
Why? This port studio is one of the best out there. And I'd rather have Eidos hire someone to do the porting (note - only the coding and stuff, none of the design decisions) for them when they don't have the manpower instead of just releasing a bad port or delaying the game for months.

It's not so much about who is doing the port, it's more about it seeming like the PC platform is not a high priority for them. If it was, it would be the Xbox or PS3 version getting outsourced, not the other way around. As someone else mentioned, wasn't the PC version originally supposed be the lead platform?

The actual word "port" is never mentioned in relation to Deus Ex - "pc version" is a better term.

Frankly I don't think many of you have any idea what so ever about how games are made, or what it actually means to have an external team working on a "pc version".

In itself it *does not affect* the actual game or content (graphics, levels etc). It's just very practical to have an external team doing all the compatibility work. Making sure the game runs well on all the different types of hardware out there. It especially makes a lot of sense when that company has a lot of experience doing exactly this work! Not all game companies can justify having many pc experts on their teams, since that expertise is only really needed for a relatively short time near the end of a project. The majority of game development is platform independent work.

Originally Posted by KasperFauerby
Guys - try reading the news post before throwing a fit

The actual word "port" is never mentioned in relation to Deus Ex - "pc version" is a better term.

Frankly I don't think many of you have any idea what so ever about how games are made, or what it actually means to have an external team working on a "pc version".

In itself it *does not affect* the actual game or content (graphics, levels etc). It's just very practical to have an external team doing all the compatibility work. Making sure the game runs well on all the different types of hardware out there. It especially makes a lot of sense when that company has a lot of experience doing exactly this work! Not all game companies can justify having many pc experts on their teams, since that expertise is only really needed for a relatively short time near the end of a project. The majority of game development is platform independent work.

Are you saying you know for a fact what happens inside this studio?

Are you offering up a guarentee that they're presenting development of this "PC version" in 100% true and authentic style?

Have you ever experienced a developer who, during interviews, downplayed the disadvantage of having another team at another location developing the game for another platform? Have you ever known a developer to ever downplay anything like that in public - so that people wouldn't respond negatively?

I'd suggest that before you pretend to know everything about what ACTUALLY happens behind the scenes, you consider that what some of us are saying - is that it's a worrying sign to not have the main team be behind the ACTUAL development of the PC version.

We can't know exactly what they're doing - which is why, so far, most of us are just WORRIED about what it means.

But naturally, if you're privvy to some kind of inside information that will guarentee that no compromises were made for the PC version, it would go a long way to alleviate my worry.

Originally Posted by KasperFauerby
Guys - try reading the news post before throwing a fit

The actual word "port" is never mentioned in relation to Deus Ex - "pc version" is a better term.

Frankly I don't think many of you have any idea what so ever about how games are made, or what it actually means to have an external team working on a "pc version".

In itself it *does not affect* the actual game or content (graphics, levels etc). It's just very practical to have an external team doing all the compatibility work. Making sure the game runs well on all the different types of hardware out there. It especially makes a lot of sense when that company has a lot of experience doing exactly this work! Not all game companies can justify having many pc experts on their teams, since that expertise is only really needed for a relatively short time near the end of a project. The majority of game development is platform independent work.

People aren't worried about the content. People are worried about crappy UI for the PC and compatibility issues that goes with outsourcing "PC versions".

Especially when Edios reps said that the lead platform was the PC version last summer. Now, 1 month before release (and about 2 weeks before going Gold), we learn that they lied about that. Can you imagine what else they lied about?

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
But naturally, if you're privvy to some kind of inside information that will guarentee that no compromises were made for the PC version, it would go a long way to alleviate my worry.

I stand by the words you high-lighted 100% - and I'll repeat what it already says. Many of you people who makes comments on this "port" will have no experience what so ever in developing games. And again, "port" is probably a bad choice of words in this case.

In my mind, when someone does a *port* of a game it's like: "Here, we have this game for platform X. Could you please do a completely new version for platform Y. You can have the source code we already wrote, and reuse the assets if you can.. but you are responsible to coding a new engine for the new platform and adjusting gameplay/UI to fit the new platform."

The work Nixxes is doing is different. They are asked to handle all the gritty details that are required for a successful PC release. Supporting all graphics cards. Making the installer for the game. Making sure everything is smooth on all Windows configurations etc. Maybe also spicing up the rendering a bit, with PC specific shaders etc. And again, that makes perfectly sense, if they are a company who have specialized in doing exactly this. It is completely beyond me *why* you would want it to happen in-house?? Why is this important at all?

As you can read from the actual news post they are not responsible for any game design (incl. UI etc). Everything they do is going by the original creative team. And they are playing and testing the game and doing adjustments based on the PC version…

It's naive to believe that a game is developed completely in-house these days. nVidia might involved with the pc graphics code and physics. Asset production is being outsourced big-time to companies that specializes in this. And so on..

There is of course no way I can guarantee that you will like the game. Neither can I guarantee that you will like the UI etc. But I can pretty much guarantee that if you *don't* like it, then you wouldn't have liked it any better if the development had been completely in-house. It would be the same design visions anyway!

Oh, and if you want facts. I have done these things before (working on my fifth game as we speak). I work for an Eidos game studio, so Eidos Montreal is a sister company. Finally I know for a fact what role Nixxes have been playing in the past for PC games released by the company where I work - and that has not been game design!

Originally Posted by KasperFauerby
I stand by the words you high-lighted 100% - and I'll repeat what it already says. Many of you people who makes comments on this "port" will have no experience what so ever in developing games. And again, "port" is probably a bad choice of words in this case.

In my mind, when someone does a *port* of a game it's like: "Here, we have this game for platform X. Could you please do a completely new version for platform Y. You can have the source code we already wrote, and reuse the assets if you can.. but you are responsible to coding a new engine for the new platform and adjusting gameplay/UI to fit the new platform."

The work Nixxes is doing is different. They are asked to handle all the gritty details that are required for a successful PC release. Supporting all graphics cards. Making the installer for the game. Making sure everything is smooth on all Windows configurations etc. Maybe also spicing up the rendering a bit, with PC specific shaders etc. And again, that makes perfectly sense, if they are a company who have specialized in doing exactly this. It is completely beyond me *why* you would want it to happen in-house?? Why is this important at all?

As you can read from the actual news post they are not responsible for any game design (incl. UI etc). Everything they do is going by the original creative team. And they are playing and testing the game and doing adjustments based on the PC version…

It's naive to believe that a game is developed completely in-house these days. nVidia might involved with the pc graphics code and physics. Asset production is being outsourced big-time to companies that specializes in this. And so on..

There is of course no way I can guarantee that you will like the game. Neither can I guarantee that you will like the UI etc. But I can pretty much guarantee that if you *don't* like it, then you wouldn't have liked it any better if the development had been completely in-house. It would be the same design visions anyway!

Oh, and if you want facts. I have done these things before (working on my fifth game as we speak). I work for an Eidos game studio, so Eidos Montreal is a sister company. Finally I know for a fact what role Nixxes have been playing in the past for PC games released by the company where I work - and that has not been game design!

Let me guess, you work for IOI?

In any case, it does indeed seem you're privvy to inside knowledge about this company and what Eidos are doing with the PC platform.

That makes me feel better about this, and since this isn't coming from a PR mouthpiece - I feel I can trust the information, though if you're actually working for a sister company there is the question of bias.

I'm surprised you react like that, though, because it's like you assume we should just always trust everything people involved are saying during interviews - and you seem oblivious to how NOT working for the actual company can create a different perspective than the one you have.

If you expect people to implicitly trust everything we hear from developers of AAA titles in the gaming industry - then you will probably find yourself constantly surprised.

This isn't about thinking I know what developing a game is like. It's about being on the receiving end of countless pieces of "information" from the media and various interviews. If you think you have more experience than I have separating fact from fiction, when it comes to listening to people who're part of the development process - then I wonder what kind of background would instill that belief in you. I've been passionate about gaming since I was 6 years old - and I've been following development of games for… hmm… 28 years now. Don't you think that entitles me to an informed opinion about whether or not being sceptical is a good position?

What developing a game is actually like is completely irrelevant to this scepticism. Also, one company is as different from another as in any other industry. Some people are trustworthy and others are not. But I think it's safe to assume that most AAA companies prefer to have the best possible outward image in relation to their games as they can without clear-cut lies being part of the equation.

I'm not as bothered by this as I would be if the game was a true crpg. Even the original Deus Ex didn't feel as robust as a regular crpg, but it was hella fun to play. I've really not seen anything to change my mind about that and the interface and such doesn't bother me as much as some. I played through Oblivion once before switching to an alternate interface. BT_mod and Darn's were significant improvements, but I didn't "need" them to enjoy the game.

I'll say this: Unveiling this news so close to release was a marketing blunder. Nixxes isn't known/respected enough to make this a positive news release. It would have been better to keep their name out of the limelight until post release.
The thing is, we don't know, (I haven't read the article yet), whether this was a planned release or if it was learned on the sly.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I'll say this: Unveiling this news so close to release was a marketing blunder. Nixxes isn't known/respected enough to make this a positive news release. It would have been better to keep their name out of the limelight until post release.
The thing is, we don't know, (I haven't read the article yet), whether this was a planned release or if it was learned on the sly.

Nah.. he was asked to clarify about the PC version, so I don't think he really had a choice. Anyways, it's still 5 months out from release.. not as if it's right around the corner.

If they had waited until post-release, I think there would have been a much bigger shitstorm.